What is it about humans...
Illustration
Object:
What is it about humans that makes us so dependent on the idea of hope? Hope is unrealistic. It's ridiculous. And yet, without it we could not continue to wake up every morning.
Take the example of the parents of a teenage daughter diagnosed with manic depression. The teenager swings between lethargic, heartbreaking lows and hyperactive, dangerous highs. Her case is severe; her highs and lows are close together and leave her family frightened and exhausted. Each time the girl's parents go to the psychologist, they listen to the doctor's grave predictions.
"But yesterday was better," the girl's mother said. "I think that in a few months she may be back to the girl we remember."
The doctor shakes his head. "You've been saying that for almost a year now," he gently reminds them.
But at the next visit, her parents say the same thing. They need that glimmer of hope in their lives, no matter how unrealistic it seems. If they can hope that things will work out all right, they can have the patience to wait for that day to come.
Take the example of the parents of a teenage daughter diagnosed with manic depression. The teenager swings between lethargic, heartbreaking lows and hyperactive, dangerous highs. Her case is severe; her highs and lows are close together and leave her family frightened and exhausted. Each time the girl's parents go to the psychologist, they listen to the doctor's grave predictions.
"But yesterday was better," the girl's mother said. "I think that in a few months she may be back to the girl we remember."
The doctor shakes his head. "You've been saying that for almost a year now," he gently reminds them.
But at the next visit, her parents say the same thing. They need that glimmer of hope in their lives, no matter how unrealistic it seems. If they can hope that things will work out all right, they can have the patience to wait for that day to come.
